Ladder



UNITED; STATES PATENT QFFlCEr-w LEE D. CRAIG, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

LADDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 508,816, dated November 14, 1893 Application filed February 25, liiQ; Serial No. 463,731- (No mpdel.)

To. all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, LEE DARNEAL CRAIG, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ladders; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of said invention,such as will enable others skilled in'the art to which it most nearly appertains to make, use, and practice the same. a i

The object of my invention is to provide a ladder that has only one upright instead of two side pieces for supporting and sustaining the steps. w p

. My improved ladder can have either stationary or folding steps, and its single upright is provided with a proper supporting foot or base at its lower end, and a suitable rest or fastening at its upper end, all as here-- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the ladder,

provided with hinged or folding steps,'the two lower Steps being lowered, while the upper step is folded against the upright. Fig. 2 is a plan view of one of the steps, showing one method of attaching it to the upright. Fig. 3 is an edge view of oneof the steps. Fig. 4: showsa clamping device for attaching the upper end iof the ladder to an object. Fig. 5 is anedge View of a}step, showing a band attachment for securing the step to the upright, and Fig. 6 shows a cross section of the upright'and band attachment represented at Fig. 5.

The single upright A, which forms the sustaining frame of my ladder, can be made of any suitable material, and may be either round, square or other form in cross section. I'prefer, however, to use asteel or iron tube as represented in the drawings. This up% right is'provided with a proper. supporting baseat its lower end. In the drawings (Fig. 1) I have shown tubular connections with the upright A in the form of a T, and two short legsB. B., but it is evident that other devices can be used for that purpose, and when it is to be used on the ground the lower end may be simply sharpened so as to picket in the Any suitable bracing device can be used to steady and support the upper end of the ladder. In the drawingsI have shown an angle arm 0, and clamp screw D, but a simple cross brace or other device might be used. The clamp screw shown in the drawings is adapted for clamping the upper end of the ladder to a fixed object.

The steps E are attached to the upright A at suitable distances apart. I shall usually hinge them so that they may be folded up against the upright A as shown in Fig. l. The method of attachment can be varied,.but I prefer to provide each step with two short arms f. f., which project at an angle from the step, so that one shall pass on each side of the upright, and they can be either secured by a bolt passing throughthe upright as shown at Figs. 1 and 2, or theymay be hinged or bolted to a clamping ring or band 9 (Figs. 5 and 6), which slips on over the upright and is clamped upon itbya bolt.

This ladder can be used for any of the various purposes for which ladders are commonly used, but it is especially adapted as an indoor or stepladder. By making the upright of tube steel it can be made very much "lighter than the ordinary ladder, and by folding the steps up against the upright it can be reduced to a small compass, so as to be stowed away in a small space. v

A ladder constructed as shown in the draw 8 5 ings would be especiallyuseful as a step lad- I der in sleeping carsto enable passengers to reach the upperberths. The clamp at the upper end can be secured to the framing or wood workof the berth and thus provide a secure and convenientmeans of ascending without being in the way or occupying much space, and when the berths are not in use the ladder can be folded upand tucked away in the space alongside themattress.

Having thus described my inventiomwhat I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Pat- A ladder consisting of a single upright, provided with a supporting base at its lower end and a rest or clamp at its upper end, and having hinged steps attached at'intervals, which- 

